Although he considers drawing to be the “spine” of his work, Jean-Luc Verna defines himself as “polydisciplinary” insofar as he also practices performance, dance, singing, theatre, film, photography, and sculpture. It is through all these mediums that he stages his body, which is completely tattooed and pierced, in numerous self-portraits. He presents himself as glorious or miserable, elated or suffering. His work draws on both scholarly and popular culture, Greek mythology, Christian iconography, and the pop rock pantheon. “I put Sleeping Beauty and the Bible on the same level in the category of fairy tales,” he says, in reference to his mixing of genres.

Born in 1966 in Nice, Jean-Luc Verna lives and works in Paris. He graduated from the Villa Arson in Nice.